Nicole Mitchell, a Democrat from Woodbury, is accused of breaking into her stepmother's home in April 2024.

Her defense is that she was there to do a welfare check on her stepmother, who has Alzheimer’s disease.

Prosecutors say Mitchell was there to get some mementos of her late father’s — something Mitchell told police at the scene — and is guilty of trying to break in with the intent to steal.

Attorneys on both sides say Mitchell's intent is what matters.

The weeklong trial included testimony from Mitchell, her stepmother, family and responding officers.

A conviction would likely make it impossible for Mitchell to stay in her role as a public official.

An attorney with expertise in federal death penalty cases has joined Vance Boelter’s defense team. But prosecutors have yet to say whether they’ll seek capital punishment for the man accused of killing former DFL House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark.

Boelter is charged with the Hortmans murder. He’s also accused of shooting and wounding DFL State Senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette and attempting to shoot their daughter Hope.

A judge today gave the go-ahead for attorney Kimberly Sharkey to work on Boelter’s defense team.

Sharkey — based in Las Vegas — is part of the federal public defender office’s death penalty unit. She joins Minneapolis-based public defender Manny Atwal.

Acting U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson says a decision on whether to seek capital punishment is months away. He says it’s ultimately up to Attorney General Pam Bondi, with input from local prosecutors and the victims’ families.